


Team Dad?!

by verbaeghe



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: 5+1 Things, Fluff and Humor, Humor, M/M, Tampa Bay Lightning, a wee bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-11-12 13:56:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11163255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/verbaeghe/pseuds/verbaeghe
Summary: Five times Anton doesn't offer much help and one time that he does.





	Team Dad?!

**Author's Note:**

  * For [coup_de_foudre](https://archiveofourown.org/users/coup_de_foudre/gifts).



> Thanks to my beta, as always ♥

  1. _Woo are you_



 

 “I need to ask your opinion on something, Stralsy, because I really value your input as my sometimes-alternate.”

Anton stops working on his current chore of tightening his skates and looks up at Stammer, who is taking a seat next to him. “Uh, okay? Shoot.”

“I need help with wooing Jo.”

“Wait, what?” Anton was expecting something about stick flex or handling the room or...he didn’t know what else, really, but not a question about _wooing_. And also, “Why would me being an alternate help with that?”

“I guess it doesn’t.” Stammer shrugs. “I don’t know why I even said that.”

“No idea?” Anton smirks. He thinks he knows why.

“Okay, yeah. Fine. I didn’t want you to run away before I could ask you. This is _important_ , Stralsy.” Stammer’s bottom lip dips into a pout.

“And why am I your go-to for this?” Anton cocks his head, a little confused that he is who Stammer thought would be best for this sort of thing.

“Well, didn’t you woo…” Stammer trails off, indicates to Anton’s wedding band vaguely.

“I...guess?” Anton pulls a face, trying to think back. “I didn’t do anything that wasn’t just me being me. So...be yourself?”

“What if that doesn’t work?”

“He doesn’t deserve you if it doesn’t work,” Anton hopes he sounds more confident than he feels. His advice must be good enough for Stammer, though, because he lights up.

“Great! Thanks, Stralsy!” Stammer stands, wandering off and muttering to himself about things that Anton doesn’t even want to try to hear.

He goes back to his skate laces.

 

  1. _Pair of Jokers_



 

“Stralsy! Just the person I wanted to see!” Anton takes one look at Killer rushing towards him and makes a dash for a nearby bathroom. Killer gets there first, standing in the doorway, effectively blocking Anton’s escape route. He sighs, resigned to whatever tomfoolery he’s about to deal with.

“What’s up, Killer?”

“I was just-” Killer looks down. Anton follows his line of sight, vaguely worried about what he’ll see, but is relieved when a large jewelry box is all Killer pulls out of his hoodie pocket. He doesn’t know what he was expecting, but still. It makes a little popping noise when it opens.

There’s a pair of matching bracelets inside. Just some kind of black and grey beads that appear to be pretty much identical. Anton stares at them, not sure what Killer wants from him.

“Well?” Killer prompts.

“Well, what?”

“Do you think Shu will like them?” Killer lifts it up so that it’s right under Anton’s nose. “Will he wear his?”

“Um.” He has no idea if Shu will like and wear one of the bracelets. He opens his mouth, not sure how he’s going to answer when Shu appears at the end of the hall. Anton has never been so happy to see the guy.

“Maybe you should ask him?” Anton tips his head towards Shu.

“Oh! Yeah! Thanks, Stralsy!” Killer grins at him before turning and trotting away. “Hey, Shu. Shu!”

Anton slips into the bathroom before he has to watch the two of them bond, or whatever.

 

  1. _Half your age plus what?_



 

“Stralsy, can I talk to you?”

Anton freezes. He was glad to have practice end a little earlier than usual because he was looking forward to heading home to spend a little extra time with his kids, but apparently no. He turns towards Fil, who looks pretty terrible, actually. All wide-eyed and like he’s about to rattle right out of his skin.

Anton sighs. What’s five more minutes?

“Sure, Fil.” Anton sinks on the bench. Fil joins him, but he doesn’t say anything right away. Anton debates pressing him to hurry it along, but Fil seems to be trying to find his words, so Anton waits.

“I just realized that Brayden doesn’t pass the rule,” Fil blurts right before Anton is about to nudge him into talking.

“The...rule?” Anton scrunches his face up in confusion. What in the hell is Fil talking about?

“You know. The ‘half your age plus seven’ rule’,” Fil buries his face in his hands and...sobs?

Anton still has no idea what he means.

“I don’t know what that is, Fil,” Anton says softly. He places a hand on Fil’s shoulder, Fil looks over at him with red-rimmed eyes. “So I’m going to say that it doesn’t matter.”

“You...think so?” Fil sounds hesitant but hopeful.

“Of course,” Anton replies, using the soothing tone normally reserved for when his youngest wakes up because of a nightmare in the middle of the night.

“Well, I mean, if you think it’s okay.” Fil sits up, palms at his face.

“Does he make you happy?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Then that’s all that matters.” Fil smiles at him and, just Jesus. It even makes butterflies swoop in _his_ stomach. That kid didn’t stand a chance.

They make small talk for a few minutes before Anton sends him off to find his boy and heads home.    

 

  1. _Much ado about Erne_



 

 “I need your help, Stralsy,” Heddy says, not even taking the time to greet him first.

“Why does everyone keep coming to me with this shit?” Anton mutters. He means the question rhetorically, but Heddy answers.

“You’re the team dad. Obviously.” Heddy is smirking when Anton looks over at him. He didn’t sign up for this team dad shit, but it appears that doesn’t actually matter. He huffs through his nose, resigning himself to another round of Adviser to the Team.

“What seems to be the problem, then?” He crosses his arms and leans back. He may as well be comfortable.

“One of the kids has a crush on me and I don’t know what to do about it.”

“And you’ve tried letting him down gently?” Anton is amused by the fact that Heddy excludes himself from the kids but hopes that it doesn’t show.

“No, I don’t know what to…” Heddy grunts. “He just keeps doing little things, like leaving me snacks or bringing me coffee, you know, whatever else, but he doesn’t _say_ anything. He just does all these little nice things and then scurries off.”

“He...scurries?” Anton isn’t sure that Heddy is using the word he means to.  

“I don’t have any other word for it, Stralsy, I swear to god.”

Well, maybe he is, then. Anton ponders the information. “Who is it?”

“It’s Er, um...Adam.”

“Adam?” Anton is confused for a minute, trying to remember who Adam is, and he’s still pretty bewildered once it comes to him.

“Adam Erne? That’s pretty...random.”

“I know,” Heddy throw his head back, defeated.

“You’re just going to have to pull him aside and talk to him. Maybe on the ice during practice. He can’t scurry away from you out there.”

“That’s a pretty good idea, actually.” Victor’s smile looks relieved. “You’re perfect for this team dad thing!”   

Anton groans and leaves the room.

 

  1. Triple the nonsense



 

Anton is working on his slap shot at the end of practice when Pally, Johnny, and Kuch skate up to him. They’re watching him intently, which probably indicates that they want him for something, so he stops and looks over at their expectant faces.

“We have a bet and we think you can settle it for us,” Johnny says.

“Yeah, no.” Anton answers, skating away before they have a chance to say another word.

 

    +1 _Emergency recall_

 

Coby doesn’t come to him asking for advice. He wouldn’t, because that isn't who he is, but something has got to be bothering him. And has been bothering him for a while. He’s been quiet and withdrawn lately, like he was when he first came over from Philly. How he was before he met...oh.

Anton spends a day trying to decide if he should even say anything, and then another couple trying to figure out what he can say that would be any help...

Then Coby has a bad game. Like, a really bad game. A ‘take stupid penalties like a rookie, start fights, break a stick and get ejected’ sort of game, and Anton knows he can’t put it off any longer.

Coby spends a long time in the shower for someone whose evening ended so early. Everyone else has already cleared out of the locker room by the time he makes an appearance. He’s in his tracksuit and sandals; looks ready to leave, Anton thinks. Coby tips his head in greeting before turning towards his stall and gathering his personal effects.

Anton knows that he needs to speak up now, before he misses his chance..

“Hey, do you want to talk?” he offers, because he never did come up with anything specific. “About Koeks, right?” Coby visibly cringes, then sags.

“No. Thanks.” Coby starts for the exit and Anton doesn’t want him to go home like this.

“Coby, _wait_.”

He stops in his tracks, and Anton thinks that it’s nice to know that he has the Coach Tone, but that isn’t the point right now. The point _now_ is that he finally knows what to say.

“You aren’t the same since he’s been down in-”

“I don’t want to talk about this,” Coby frowns.

“Was it...did you part on bad terms?”

“Stralsy.” Coby sighs. “What did I just say?”

“Well, you’re about to end up serving popcorn, so maybe you _should_ talk about it.”

Coby crosses his arms and leans against a nearby wall, like he thinks he can out-stubborn Anton. Well, Anton has about twelve kids, so he can wait out one guy being pissy.

They stand there, staring one another down in complete silence for almost five minutes before Coby finally relents, “We didn’t part on any terms. It was unexpected, so he was here and then he wasn’t.” Coby’s whole body wilts; Anton has never seen him look so small. “I never told him how I feel about him. We weren’t official, or whatever and he’s probably off in Syracuse…” A bunch of emotions flit across Coby’s face, but all he does is shrug. “And now we used all our emergency recalls and there’s pretty much no chance _he’ll_ be recalled...I don’t even know when I’ll get to see him again.”

“Why haven’t you talked to him though? What's stopping you from making a call?” Anton has seen the way Koeks looks at Coby and there isn’t any way that he’s in Syracuse doing anything different from what Coby is doing here.

“When? And anyway, you don’t have those talks over the phone.” Coby shakes his head, looks at the door. “Look, this has been super swell, but I’ll talk to you later.”

Anton lets him leave, then goes straight to Coop’s office to tell him all about the pain in his side that the trainers think might be a pulled muscle and how he isn’t sure he’ll be able to go next game.

//

He walks into the locker room the next morning to find Coby and Koeks sitting close together at their stalls talking, heads tipped in as near as they can and still be Room Appropriate. They’re relaxed and happy. Anton smiles, heading for his own stall. He didn’t buy them much time, but it’s enough.

Maybe this team dad thing isn’t so bad after all.


End file.
